Andre Villas Boas will not lead Chelsea ’03 to a Premier League title this season and may have to win the Champions League in order to save his job. The Portuguese coach thought his team had turned the corner with wins against Newcastle, Valencia and Man City ’08 and a very credible draw at Tottenham. The results quieted some of his critics in the media and the Stamford Bridge dressing room. A draw against Fulham and a loss against Aston Villa, both at home, have provided those critics with more ammunition that the young coach is not up to the task of managing a high profile English team. AVB has a long way to go to prove he is a realistic heir to the throne of Jose Moruinho.

Tottenham Hotspur ended the Christmas season as the top team in London, the first time in 15 years they have held such a lofty spot at the turn of the year. Spurs fans will be ecstatic if their team is still ahead of the other London clubs come May, especially the interlopers from down the North Circular Road. Manchester will be fighting it out for the title, but the race for the final two Champions League spots will be fought out in London. One of Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea ‘03 will miss out on next year’s Champions League.

Newcastle United‘s Demba Ba is one of, if not, the signing of the season. The Senegal international forward has scored 15 goals for the Magpies, a staggering 58% of the team’s goals. Ba signed for a minimal fee from relegated West Ham United and his goals have helped promoted Newcastle to consolidate their position in the top ten of the EPL. They are 17 points clear of the relegation zone, but only three points behind Arsenal and a Europa Cup spot. A top five spot is probably beyond them especially with Ba missing the next month of the season due to his inclusion in Senegal’s African Cup of Nations squad. It would be great for football if Newcastle can stay in touch in the coming month and then beat out one of the Sky 4 to the European spot.

Steve Kean may be in over his head as a Premier League manager and he may eventually lose his job as Blackburn boss, but he does not deserve the abuse the club’s so called fans gave him at Ewood Park in their loss to Bolton. Kean handled the abuse with a touch of class. Rovers fans on the other hand showed none. It is one thing to boo the team, a manger or a player, it is another to maintain a vitriolic campaign against them. If Kean is fired I hope Blackburn are relegated. Their fans don’t deserve to be in the Premier League.

Barcelona won the FIFA Club World Cup when they beat Santos 4-0 in the final in Yokohama, Japan. Lionel Messi proved again, as if there was any doubt, that he is the best player in the world with two sublime goals in the win. Messi’s performance overshadowed that of the Brazilian starlet Neymar. His time may come, but he was in the presence of greatness as Barca sauntered to victory. Messi has had a great year – he scored in the Champions League final to outshine Wayne Rooney and Manchester United; he scored a number of goals in La Liga and the Champions League semi-final to outshine Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid; and he scored two in the World Club Final to outshine Santos and Neymar. Despite some doubts to the contrary, mostly from media pundits in England, Lionel Messi is the world’s best player.

Celtic were fined by UEFA for their fans’ illicit chanting and singing in a Europa Cup game earlier this season. They have also been charged with another offence after irate fans unfurled a banner with a foul-mouthed suggestion to UEFA in an away game at Udinese. Celtic and its fans have had a tremendous reputation around Europe for the best part of the last 40 years. The European Cup Winners Cup game at home to Rapid Vienna in 1984 and the 1980 Scottish Cup Final against Rangers the two exceptions. The club will put its house in order and Celtic will ban for life any fan who sullies the club’s good name. Fans of bitter rivals Rangers have turned the recent incidents into a point scoring contest. What is that they say about people in glass houses?

Liverpool should fire the PR rep whose idiotic idea it was to send its players out wearing a Luis Suarez tee shirt at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic. They should also stop manager Kenny Dalglish from making any further comment on the case. Suarez may not be a racist, but he admitted to and was found guilty of making racist remarks to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. Liverpool have misjudged sentiment in the UK and around the football world and have lost the support of neutrals in the sorry saga. Suarez should take his eight game ban like a man rather than try to drag Evra’s good name through the mud.

The sacking of Antoine Kombouare as coach of Paris St. Germain is another sign of everything that is wrong with modern day football. PSG were top of Ligue 1 when Kombouare was fired. The club has had huge investment from the Middle East and the new owners, Qatar Investment Authority and their Director of Football, Leonardo did not feel the unfortunate Kombouare was the man to take the team forward. They have appointed Carlo Ancelotti as the new boss with the remit of leading the club to Champions League glory. The Italian should be well prepared for the demands of the job having worked previously for an egomaniacal club owner.